Transposon control mechanisms in telomere biology

Abstract

The ends of linear eukaryotic chromosomes, telomeres, are elongated by reverse transcriptase activity provided by the enzyme telomerase, or by specialized telomeric retrotransposons. Telomerase and telomeric retrotransposons represent unique examples of structurally different, but evolutionary and functionally related machineries that generate essential chromosome structures, namely telomeres. In fact, the telomere is an example of the taming of retroelements for the maintenance of essential genome function. Many features of telomere homeostasis are conserved between telomerase and retrotransposon maintained telomeres. The retrotransposon origin of telomeres suggests that mechanisms of transposon control could be adopted for telomere regulation. The discovery of the role of Drosophila telomeric piRNAs in telomere length control and the influence of LINE-1 retroelements on telomere regulation in human cells strongly support this idea and allow us to look at telomere regulation from a new angle.